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Kien Keat must be level-headed

If he wants to make his critics eat their words, must perform to his best in the Singapore Open which starts tomorrow.

Kien Keat, whose prima donna behaviour during the recent Asian Badminton Championships in Johor Baru, riled national doubles coach Rexy Mainaky, who as a deterrent, put the shuttler through several punishments.

This included covering 50 laps of a 200-metre track which lasted almost two hours, and extra training drills which Kien Keat completed without complaining.

Kien Keat, after a shoddy performance in Johor Baru where he and partner Tan Boon Heong were beaten by compatriots Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah for the title, said he would show his true ability in Singapore and it’s no secret he is targeting the title.

When Kien Keat-Boon Heong lost to Lee Jae Jin-Hwang Ji Man in the team semi-finals against South Korea in the Doha Asian Games in December (where Malaysia lost 3-1), a fed-up Rexy threatened to quit and that got the Malaysian pair back to their best again.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong responded by winning the Asian Games gold medal — a first for Malaysia in 36 years — without dropping a game.

Kien Keat, on that occasion, was the one who made the difference with his experience and again showed he can be relied on when the pair won the All England title last month.

National chief coach Yap Kim Hock, who had coached Kien Keat earlier in his career, said the shuttler is a natural fighter and has the ability to bounce back strongly when the odds are against him.

"I can see him (Kien Keat) making a strong impact in the Singapore Open. His focus might drift at times but he has the ability to regain his composure very quickly," said Kim Hock yesterday.

"It is his desire to take on the opposition and perform at the highest level that had helped them to win consistently. We can expect Kien Keat to rise to the occasion again."

"Rexy has done a good job of disciplining Kien Keat and he has realised his mistakes. We can expect something special from Kien Keat and Boon Heong again," added Kim Hock.

This being the case, the top pairs at the Singapore Open will have to watch out for Kien Keat who will be keen to prove he is world class and that the Johor Baru episode was a hiccup. The pair’s prime target remains the Olympic gold medal in Beijing next year.

Winning the Singapore Open will restore the public’s faith in Kien Keat-Boon Heong, but more importantly it will help them earn a top four seeding in the World Championships in August and, eventually, becoming the World No 1.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong have a tricky opening match against compatriots Fairuzizuan Tazari-Zakry Latif, which they are expected to win, and then have Eng Hian-Rian Sukmawan of Indonesia to deal with in the second round.

Assuming they progress, they meet Indonesia’s joint third seeds Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan in the last eight and a win will pit them against second-seeded Danes Jens Eriksen-Martin Lundgaard Hansen in the semi-finals.

The Malaysian pair have beaten them all and if Kien Keat can contain his sometimes over-eager play and remain focused, another title is as good as in the bag.

Good Luck to KKK..my 100% support goes to KKK and TBH..... .I wanna see the critics eat their word. .

I think they are still young and not as level headed as the older malaysian pair. But they certainly do have a promising future ahead....

I am sorry but I think age has got nothing to do with it. One is never too young or too old. It is about a person's character.

Look at our Nicol David, she is young and she is a world champion. Boris Becker won Wimbledon when he was 18yrs old and went on to be a legend. Pele won the WC in Sweden at aged 17. Maradona made his debut for Argentina aged 16. Paolo Maldini is still playing for AC Milan at 39yrs old.

But that said, I hope KKK learned his lesson and learned it well. As a Malaysian, nothing gives me more pride than to see our players up there with the best. Most important is to give your best for your country and the rest will take care of itself.

I am sorry but I think age has got nothing to do with it. One is never too young or too old. It is about a person's character.

Look at our Nicol David, she is young and she is a world champion. Boris Becker won Wimbledon when he was 18yrs old and went on to be a legend. Pele won the WC in Sweden at aged 17. Maradona made his debut for Argentina aged 16. Paolo Maldini is still playing for AC Milan at 39yrs old.

But that said, I hope KKK learned his lesson and learned it well. As a Malaysian, nothing gives me more pride than to see our players up there with the best. Most important is to give your best for your country and the rest will take care of itself.

talk about nicol david,
she did lose tamely to her opponent in final recently..despite that, she's still our fav player, one of the players that MAS can be proud of.. so, no matter how good an athlete is, still there will be down time..so stop talking bad comment about kkk..give him chance!

I think it is too much of undue pressure on them. We cant expect them to WIN ALL THE TIME isnt. It sounds like they cant lose at all now. The most important is to play a great game. It is really harsh to push them to the limit that they MUST MUST MUST MUST achieve in every single tournament. Is like a nightmare. I think it is too much of a big fuss to condemn someone so greatly with just a failure (which i think is not that serious yet)

Fairuzizuan and Zakry did well to beat KKK/TBH in singapore open recently. what's wrong? due to both pair knowing each other games well? if so, why KKK/TBH does not know Fairuzizuan and Zakry game well? hope KKK/TBH can bounce back at Indonesia Open. losing to teammates is not an excuse. they need to be true champions. cheer up and stay focused!

of course they will bounce back if they have the correct attitude. KKK should not say 'losing to teammate is ok'. TBH fate is on KKK now. if KKK can hit the right attitude, this pair can win again. depends on their mentality now. Hafiz is an example after the All England success.

of course they will bounce back if they have the correct attitude. KKK should not say 'losing to teammate is ok'. TBH fate is on KKK now. if KKK can hit the right attitude, this pair can win again. depends on their mentality now. Hafiz is an example after the All England success.

to give some credits to KKK, he has the ability in badminton. he did well in Asian Games and AE. BUT.., it's his attitude problem. rexy/ricky and cheah/yap were never a showmaster during their playing days. this makes the difference between true champions. true champions have the correct attitude and skills while temporary winners have the skills only.